Tehran, May 20, 2024 (MRUD NEWS)—Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Mehrdad Bazrpash, and Iran's President, Ebrahim Raisi, paid a visit to the Aras road and rail transport projects in the East Azarbaijan Province in the northwest of Iran and inaugurated Qiz Qalasi Dam and the Aghbend road bridge.
Unfortunately, at the end of this visit, Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi who was traveling to the site died along with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, and other officials in a helicopter crash in the mountainous area of Dizmar Forest in the East Azerbaijan northwest of Iran.
In the visit, there was a ceremony for the inauguration of the Qiz Qalasi Dam on the Aras River, the largest joint water project between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Also, the Aghbend road bridge over the Aras River was inaugurated during this visit. As a new transport link between the East Zangezur economic region of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic through Iran's territory, the construction of the Aghbend road bridge over the Aras River was formally kicked off in October 2023, during the visit of Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development to Azerbaijan while the MoU for a railroad bridge was also reached.
The two sides also visited development and completion plan of Khoda Afarin Dam with the presence of the Presidents of Iran and Azerbaijan.
On this trip, Mehrdad Bazarpash, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development, accompanied the President as the head of the Iran-Azerbaijan Joint Economic Commission.
Aras road and rail transit corridor will be built with a length of 107 km and a credit amounting to 49000 billion IRR. Some parts of the implementation phase of the road section have been started and the railway is also under study.
This project, which is located on the East-West Corridor, starts from Kalaleh in Jolfa city in the north of East Azerbaijan and is connected to the Republic of Azerbaijan with bridge.
According to forecasts, this project will be implemented in 36 months with the construction of 21 bridges and 5 large bridges.
In a meeting with Ayatollah Raisi, Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, stated that the joint transport projects between Iran and Azerbaijan are of particular importance to Azerbaijan and the whole region. The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is very important for the region, and with the development of railway infrastructure, this corridor will become the most vital transport route in the world.
Referring to the 50% increase in transportation between the two countries in the last year, Aliyev added that after the opening of the railway, the figure will increase even more.